She’s getting a leg up.
Lauren Silberman hopes to knock the socks off NFL scouts today as she puts her best foot forward at the regional combine in New Jersey — the first woman to ever try out for pro football.
“I didn’t think about my gender when I registered,” she told USA Today. “I just wanted to go out and compete with the best.”, learn more about the combine process, and, above all, have fun . . .
“I am glad that it has focused attention on increasing opportunities for women and am so proud to be able to kick through this open door!”
The 28-year-old East Village resident will certainly have a tall order competing against more seasoned kickers. She has no game experience at any level, and the closest she has come to a cleat has been as a club soccer player at the University of Wisconsin. (She also played lacrosse and soccer in high school.)
“I am working hard to prepare, but I am also realistic about my chances,” she told the Associated Press. “I hope my willingness to put myself out there inspires others to seize opportunities and challenges. The support from around the world has been so heartening.”
Silberman, who has founded a consulting firm, has been training a few hours a day for the past week with Ricky Krautman, a former kicker at Syracuse University who plays in the Indoor Football League.
“The first session, I just acclimated her to the technique,” Krautman told The Post. “This isn’t soccer; you don’t kick from 20 yards away. It’s a three-step approach.”
By her third lesson, Krautman says, Silberman had found her stride.
“I saw she was getting the feel for everything and getting her technique down,” he said. “She still needs a lot of work, but she’s confident.”
So far, her longest made kick has been from about 35 yards, her coach said.
As for words of advice?
“I told her, ‘Don’t talk too much. Do what you gotta do. Take this seriously. This is not going to end on Sunday,’ ” Krautman said.
If she doesn’t make it, Silberman has plenty to fall back on. The brainy brunette worked on her master’s in comparative media studies at MIT, writing her thesis in 2009 about how athletes use video games to boost their performance.
Today’s event at the Jets’ training facility in Florham Park supplements the NFL’s invite-only national scouting combine to ensure that players with pro potential aren’t overlooked.
Registration is open at the regional combine, where the goal is to wow a team that might take a flier in a late draft round or invite a prospect to training camp.
If she kicks butt, the combine will be the first leg of her journey. The next stop is the super regional combine next month in Dallas.
The NFL allowed women to play in the league in 2012, and Silberman said she hopes more women will try out.
“But for me, what’s important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world’s most competitive football league,” she told NFL.com.